Sex Crimes

Rape is sexual intercourse that is forced on another without the person’s consent or against the person’s will. This act is criminalized throughout the United States, but the legal term for it varies from state to state.

No means no, even if “No” is said after dinner, drinks, and flirtation. Gone are the days when a person could avoid a rape charge by saying he was “Led on” or “She was asking for it.” A person who forces a date to have sex commits rape.

Sexual assault or rape refers to the crime of forcing sexual intercourse, sodomy or some form of sexual penetration on another, against the person’s will and without the person’s consent. Most, if not all states, define sexual penetration as penetration of the vagina with a part of the body or an object.

Ten years ago, the United States Supreme Court declared sodomy laws unconstitutional. Historically, sodomy (usually defined as oral and anal sex) was a crime in many states, even when the acts were performed in private, between two consenting adults.

People who are convicted of crimes, including sex crimes, may want to appeal the verdict. During the appeals process, the convicted person asks an appellate court to review and overturn the judge or jury’s decision.

The crime of incest is committed when people who are related to one another engage in sexual activity, get married, or live together as man and wife. While the precise behavior that is considered incest varies across different states and cultures, almost all societies consider some forms of incest taboo, and laws reflect those beliefs.

Despite success in raising awareness of sexual harassment and changes in the law to address it more effectively, sexual harassment is still a widespread problem in workplaces in the U.S. It is illegal in the sense that it violates federal and state civil laws. But, is it ever also criminal? The answer is that some, but not all, acts of sexual harassment are also crimes

In recent years, the federal government enacted laws that created a nationwide sex offender database and required every state to meet new, more stringent registration standards under their own sex offender laws.

Sex offender registration is one of the post-sentence penalties that states impose on people convicted of certain sexual offenses. Twenty states (and the federal government) also have “sexual predator” laws.

Do registered sex offenders have a First Amendment right to access Facebook? Yes, according to the U.S. Supreme Court. In June 2016, the Court struck down a North Carolina law that barred registered sex offenders from using social networking websites. The court ruled that the law unconstitutionally limited offenders’ free speech rights. (Packingham v. North Carolina, Case No. 15–1194 (June 19, 2017).)

In most states, the laws that criminalize public sex make it a misdemeanor crime. Some state laws explicitly criminalize public sexual activity. Other laws are broader and cover a variety of indecent or lewd conduct.

A rape charge is a serious felony charge. It typically involves an accusation that the defendant forced another person to engage in sexual intercourse, anal sex, or other sexual activity involving even the slightest form of penetration, without that person’s consent.

Gone are the days when a rape defendant could point to his victim and say, “She’s a loose woman and everyone knows it,” and get away with rape. For the most part those days are gone, thanks largely to the institution of “rape shield laws.”

The crime of rape involves forcing another person to engage in sexual intercourse, anal sex, or other sexual activity involving even the slightest form of penetration, without that person’s consent or against the person’s will. In some states, this crime is referred to as sexual battery and the terms

It is possible to commit the crime of rape against someone with whom you have previously had consensual sex. It is even possible for a sexual encounter to begin as consensual and become an act of rape. When Does Consensual Sex Become Rape? The crime of rape consists of committing a sexual act (usually

It is possible to be charged with sexual battery if you touched someone in an intimate part of the person’s body, even if it was a mistake. However, being charged with a crime does not mean you will be convicted, and mistake is a defense that is available to a defendant facing almost any type of criminal charge.

Sexual Battery in Florida refers to sex crimes not typically covered by rape statutes, such as unlawful sexual contact. Sexual battery is often characterized as sexual touching or penetration without consent...

Sexual Battery in Ohio refers to sex crimes not typically covered by rape statutes, such as unlawful sexual conduct. Sexual battery is often characterized as sexual touching or penetration without consent of the person. The mere touching of another person for the purpose of sexual gratification qualifies as sexual battery.

Rape—any nonconsensual sexual intercourse— between non-spouses has always been illegal. However, until 1975, every state had a “marital exemption” that allowed a husband to rape his wife without fear of legal consequences.

Marital rape was a term that was viewed by the law as an oxymoron until shamefully late in U.S. history. Until the 1970’s, the rape laws in every state in the union included an exception if the rapist and the victim were husband and wife.

Depending on the state, solicitation of prostitution can mean either when a prostitute advertises his or her availability to perform sexual acts for compensation, or when a potential patron offers to pay for sex.

Under most states and counties in the United States prostitution is illegal and punishable as a misdemeanor in most cases. Prostitution is defined as the act of offering, agreeing to or engaging in sexual acts or sexual contact for compensation.

Though prostitution is a crime under federal law and in all states other than Nevada, certain conduct related to it is treated far more severely than the act itself. Pimping and pandering laws are designed to curb prostitution—and to protect people who might take part in it—by punishing those who exploit, facilitate, or knowingly benefit from the sex trade.

Law enforcement agencies often use -- and courts usually allow -- “sting” operations, where officers go undercover to catch people involved in the sex trade. Sting operations are a practical response to the way prostitution is carried out. Most other crimes come to the attention of law enforcement

Prostitution is illegal in 49 of the 50 states, Nevada being the sole exception. But some people believe that paid sex is so entrenched in our society that the focus should not be prosecuting it, but rather keeping it clean and safe. Others argue that it’s impossible to strip prostitution of exploitation, harassment, and violence, and that outright prohibition is the only tenable approach.

Sexually transmitted diseases, sometimes known as venereal diseases, are diseases that are transferred between people primarily as a result of sexual contact. Some of these diseases can be treated or cured while others, such as human immunodeficiency virus, or HIV, are not curable and can lead to death.